The North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il arrived in China Thursday, following a visit to Russia during which he met with President Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia, announced the news agencies of China and North Korea.
The Xinhua News Agency said that Mr. Kim made a stopover in China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to say whether meetings with Chinese officials were on the agenda of Mr. Kim, or if it was merely in transit in China before returning to Pyongyang.
The North Korean KCNA agency then announced that Mr. Kim was visiting in the northeast area of the People’s Republic of China on August 25, on the way back to North Korea. It did not provide further details.
Previous visits of the North Korean leader in China had been held in secret and had been confirmed by the media of both countries once the visit ended.
Mr. Kim, who does not like to fly for safety reasons, arrived in China on an armored train to the Heilongjiang province and went through the border town of Manzhouli, according to Xinhua.
This is the first time Mr. Kim travelled to China since May. He then told the Chinese President Hu Jintao that his country remained committed to the path of denuclearization and wanted a resumption of six-party talks (China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia) on this issue.
On Wednesday, North Korean leader said that he is ready to impose a moratorium on nuclear test in the event of resumption of six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program during talks with President Medvedev on a military base in Siberia.